A sonically mature project from a pop legend in her prime: Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine (2024)

In the years since she last took over the music scene, Ariana Grande returned to her acting roots with two Wicked movies, set for release this November and the next. However, this new chapter of her life has been marred by damaging rumours about the nature of her new relationship with her co-star, which have since been retracted by gossip website Page Six after they initially covered the story.

Despite this intrusive hearsay online, Grande has returned with her seventh studio album eternal sunshine, which takes inspiration from the 2004 sci-fi romantic drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film revolves around two individuals who go through a procedure to erase the memories of their relationship, which becomes a conceit that is scattered through the album. Sonically, Grande is on top form, with the album being one of her most cohesive projects to date.

“Grande is on top form, with the album being one of her most cohesive projects to date”

The album opens with ‘intro (end of the world)’, a brooding half-ballad coated with strings, which releases a flurry of questions that define the course of the album (“How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship? / Aren’t you really supposed to know that sh*t?”). This dark sound then thrusts into ‘bye’, an upbeat disco track that heralds the metaphorical and literal departure from a relationship. Although dancing on the cusp of becoming too repetitive, the chorus (“Bye-bye, it’s over, it’s over”) is enticing in its combination of strutting production and Grande’s layered harmonies.

Grande delves a little deeper into some aspects of her previous relationship with ‘don’t wanna break up again’, detailing how the relationship needs definite finality over a mid-tempo R&B beat. The lyrics are painful from the very beginning of the track: “I fall asleep crying / You turn up the TV”. Coupled with this, the title track ‘eternal sunshine’ further emphasises the tumultuous nature of the relationship (“I showed you all my demons, all my lies / Yet you played me like Atari”) and how she would rather be happy with her new partner, forgetting about her former relationship just like the characters of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The trap sound of the track is well-trodden ground for Grande, with thank u, next and positions having a litany of these types of songs, but there is a marked maturity to eternal sunshine in its lyrical content that distinguishes it from others in her discography.

“There is a marked maturity to eternal sunshine in its lyrical content that distinguish it from others in her discography”

One of the strongest tracks on the album, ‘supernatural’ – full of dazzling and dreamy synths – encapsulates how infatuated Grande is with her new relationship in eternal sunshine. It’s one of the few lyrically happier songs on this album, which is a refreshing page-turn in the story of the project.

A trifecta of 90’s inspired tracks follow, with ‘true story’ and ‘the boy is mine’ going hand in hand as responses to the narratives projected onto Grande, in which she takes on the role of the villain she is portrayed tobe. This mini grouping then concludes with the pumping House track ‘yes, and? ’, which proclaims that people should mind their business and not give into invasive rumours (“Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose – I ride”).

‘we can’t be friends (wait for your love)’, a dancefloor banger that you can cry to, is the strongest track on the album both sonically and lyrically. There is a desperate lyrical yearning hidden behind the upbeat tempo, particularly within the bridge of the track (“I don’t like how you paint me, yet I’m still here hanging”). A lush string arrangement closes the track, which sounds triumphant despite the moody lyrics.

The album ends on a weaker note with ‘ordinary things (feat. Nonna)’, which lacks the lyrical depth of some of the other tracks. The chorus, whilst having a sweet sentimentality (“There’s never going to be an ordinary thing / As long as I’m with you”) is not as stylistically interesting. However, Grande’s grandmother Nonna does provide a great closing sentiment that answers the questions Grande proposed at the beginning of the album. “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?” is answered in ‘ordinary things’ as she states that if you go to sleep without kissing goodnight, then “you’re in the wrong place / Get out”.

In the face of all the unfounded rumours circling about her, Grande has managed to produce a sonically mature project that neatly moves from one part of her story to the next. It is the statement of an artist who is in their prime, and not slowing down any time soon.